If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Biggest issue with them is rot. If you can find a rot-free example, you're onto a winner.
My lad has a 2008 1.3 Zetec standard KA, which apart from some bubbling around the rear wiper arm is completely rust free.

It's unbelievable spec - remote central locking, power steering, electric windows, minilite alloy wheeles, rear spoiler, working Air Con, heated front & rear windscreens, electric mirrors, a great OEM hifi (as JJ says) only the one he has also has a front AUX socket for plugging in his phone also.

We paid £1600 for it with 36,000 miles on the clock - as something for him to learn in - but now he's passed his test he has every intention of keeping it. It flew through it's MOT no advisories and the tester said it had been 5 or 6 years since he'd seen such a nice Ka.

It could do with a bit more "go" for me, but it's great for an inexperienced driver. Handles really nicely, London-taxi-esque turning circle, a real hoot to barrel round the local rural roads.
I do have a small itch to find a decent "Sport-Ka" to run for a few months - think it could be a proper laugh!

Add incisive steering, playful tail and torquey engine and that's what I was saying here ten years ago. No one believed me....

Rumour has it that the Ka was to be launched with a three cylinder two-stroke (why the engine bay was too cramped to accommodate a four valve/cylinder engine) but Ford bottled it. A pity, as they would have been several decades ahead of the curve. ( A curve which will yet be arced - not that I'll be believed....)

Paraphrasing, ''When NOx output becomes a concern, the two-stroke will have to be revisited''. That was written in 1968. Diesel four strokes are so expensive as to be pricing themselves out of certain markets, four stroke petrols are following the same path. Electrification has not fully arrived and there will still be a need for an onboard generator in some applications.

NOx is a function of cylinder pressure, the two stroke can generate the same power at half the cylinder pressure. Direct injection systems (Orbital's and BRP's E-Tec) can curb the loss of UBHC. The oil loss still needs attention but much can be done.
The biggest problem though is that those used to developing four strokes just don't 'get' two strokes. The four stroke is a very complex engine but conceptually very simple. The two stroke is a very simple engine but conceptually, its harder to master. Paraphrasing again, ''Give the two stroke engine to a four stroke guy and watch him **** it up''. There's a reason for that saying.

2 stroke diesels are really good engines generally but not many are made now. The Norton Wolfe had a stepped piston two stroke with primary compression being provided by a larger cross section part of the piston. I think I read somewhere in the last 12 months or so that the design is going to be re-released as a two cylinder. A stepped piston design should be more easily able to meet more stringent regulations.

Mind you if we got rid of the tree huggers we wouldn't have these problems.

Bernard Hooper has been hawking a stepped piston engine around for decades with limited success and none in the automotive sector where the prejudice is rife. Stepped pistons add friction and can too easily add to pumping losses. They are also very bulky impacting on bore spacing and thus crank length. None of which plays to 2T strengths.
Renault have a 2T diesel but typical of a 4T crew tackling a 2T they went straight to poppet valves. Good luck with cracking valves open in 30-80 degrees of crank rotation every revolution when all you have experience of is opening them in 130 degrees every second revolution. It aint going to rev, that's for sure - which pushes them back to high pressures (and NOx).

We owe it to ourselves to not harm the only planet we know capable of supporting us. Anyway, why shirk a challenge? We should be looking at impact in totality and that includes manufacturing and the materials used in propulsive units (IC and electric). Here, the 2T storms ahead. It even permits a lighter transmission system.

All contributions to this website are the personal opinions of the individual members concerned and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Forum or its Staff unless specifically stated. The Forum accepts no responsibility for advice or information given in this website or by its members.